The Latest: Irish say Brexit deal fell apart at last minute

Ireland’s prime minister says he was told that Britain and the European Union had struck a deal to resolve a Brexit logjam over the Irish border, only for it to fall apart at the last minute.

Leo Varadkar says he was told by EU chiefs Monday that the U.K. “had agreed a text on the border that met our terms.”

Ireland and the EU want Britain to give concrete promises that there will be no hard border in Ireland after Brexit.

But after Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party issued an uncompromising statement, British and EU leaders announced that they needed more time for negotiations.

Varadkar says he is “surprised and disappointed that the British government appears not to be in a position to conclude what was agreed today.”

But he says he hopes a deal can be reached before a key EU summit later this month.

5:05 p.m.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says a deal on the terms of Britain’s divorce from the EU has not yet been reached.

Juncker said Monday that the position between the sides had narrowed to a huge extent and that he was confident a breakthrough deal would be reached before a Dec. 14-15 summit of EU leaders.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said that negotiations would continue this week and insisted she was confident of a positive outcome.

2:05 p.m.

EU Council President Donald Tusk says that Britain and the European Union are getting closer to a breakthrough deal on the Brexit negotiations after he reported progress on the question of the Irish border.

Tusk says he was “encouraged” after a phone conversation with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who briefed him on progress on the outstanding issue of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Tusk wrote in a twitter message Monday that they were “getting closer to sufficient progress at December” summit of EU leaders.

If the EU leaders find there has been “sufficient progress” on Britain’s divorce terms, they can let the negotiations move on to the next phase of future trade relations.

8:45 a.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is coming to Brussels for crucial talks on the state of Brexit negotiations, with the outcome poised to set the agenda for the divorce terms between Britain and the European Union.

May will be meeting with both EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Council President Donald Tusk hoping to reach enough progress on the divorce bill it has to pay, Irish border conditions and the rights of citizens in each other’s nations for the negotiations to reach the next stage and include future trade relations.

EU top Brexit officials will also be huddling among themselves looking how to get more concessions from Britain specifically on citizens’ rights and the Irish border.

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